Something to be said about not having a plan...

[chanty]

I go back on Memory Lane...and I remember our first trip back in 2003.
We knew nothing about Disney, I didn't research a thing...

I was flying to Orlando and staying at the Dolphin resort for a conference. We had one and a half day to visit... We visited the 4 parks in 1 and a half day... can you imagine???

I remember the feeling of being so SURPRISED to see the characters and running to them, jumping up & down (yes, I was a 23yr old "kid").

There was something about just not knowing and walking around and being AMAZED...being SURPRISED.

Of course, when I found this site I realized we had seen NOTHING.

But still...sometimes I miss that first time feeling...

 

[LSUfan4444]

Ignorance is bliss!

(not meant in an offensive manner)

Not knowing what you're missing helps.

 

[Suellen]

We went with no plan last time. Not even a single dining reservation. We had so much fun! When we woke up in the morning we made coffee and sat on the balcony watching the animals and then let the girls wake on their own and have breakfast in the room. Then we would dress them up and ask where they wanted to go that day.

We had SO much fun!! Swam in the pool every day ~ played on the playground for hours one evening (4th of July actually) ~ it was awesome to have nothing to do.

 

[Jedi]

thats exactly why all I do is make ADR's

 

[Uno Mas]

too funny - and that's exactly why I DON'T make ADRs! It's so nice to just be leisurely for a change - not to worry about where you need to be at what time.

 

[The Hendies]

This thread brings me back to our first trip. We had off-site hotel reservations and that's it! We didn't even have Tickets! No 'Preferred seating" (there was no ADR as I recall) but we didn't need it because we didn't budget for meals in the parks. (Hotel was Kids Eat Free) Looking back, we did ALOT for not knowing anything about Disney. Of course, there was no AK, so only 3 parks.

One funny 'Newbie" story is that we were so excited when we got to MK, our first park, we dashed off to the tram and headed to the park. Then at mid-day back to our rental car... um... our rental car... Where is it? We did not know enough to jot down the row, section, nothing! Any guess how many white rental cars there are in any given DWD parking lot? Fun Times!

 

[honeydiane1953]

We as kids use to go on vacation once a yr without reservation one. We had a blast. Now with the internet we know too much. All this planning and admit I do, stresses one out to no end. This yr when I went I had planned for so much for so long I really was VERY TIRED when I arrived. I will not do that again. BTW I plan to go SOLO and am SO GLAD!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[DisneyWisher]

I don't like planning, I do like researching and picking up tips but that is the extent of my planning. I looked over a sample plan from Touring Plans (no offense intended) but it's just too controling for me. We live waking up, though we will get up early and decide what park that day. We always have hoppers so if a park is busier than we like we will hop to another. So glad we didn't do free dining, planning those ADRs is just too hard when I don't know where we will want to be that day. The one good thing about researching is finding those things we never did (I.e. HDDR, renting Watermouse...).

 

[BigGreen73]

Our "planning" is ADR's and what park we're going to on what day. That's it. We go with the flow, take our time, take in what we feel like, and just have fun.

 

[Letterhead]

I've been 5 times, albeit offsite every time so no ADRs, and I've just turned up and decided what I felt like doing on the day. Next time I go I'll be doing my first onsite and will want to visit a lot of the resort eateries. if this is your plan then I think it would require some sort of timetable to ensure a seat at the restaurants.

 

[ols386]

I can remember when you didn't really need a dining reservation. But now, especially if you go during a busy time of year, like spring break or during the Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday time period, you might have a difficult time dining at a table service restaurant without a reservation.

Heck, I can remember the very first time I went, the only park there was MK. That was it. No Epcot, HWS, or AKL. That was in February of 1974.

We do make one dining reservation per day now, when we go, but other than that, we aren't really on a schedule.

 

[rccola18]

i like seeing a entertainment when you happen to walk past like the French entertainment outside of Chefs de France. That is always a treat.

 

[fla4fun]

It's tempting to look back on the innocence of those first trips and paint them with the rosy glow of perfection. I've been going to WDW since 1971. Some of my fondest memories are of us sitting in the shade somewhere deciding what to use our tickets for. Dad would usually only buy the 8 ticket book, but we could fill up a full day with just those 8 tickets - and sometimes we'd have some tickets left. We always stayed off property back then, and WDW was a one day stopover on the way to our "real" vacation at the beach. We never felt like we missed out on anything, even though we knew we didn't see everything.

I'm still a spontaneous WDW traveler. For example, I'll be there for 10 days later this month. I have two ADR's booked at my two favorite restaurants, but otherwise, I'll just grab some QS when I get hungry. I'll be spending a lot of time in Epcot because my last two trips were spent mostly at MK, and Epcot is my favorite park. I'm thinking about an MNSSHP - I can buy a ticket that gives me a choice of going one of four different nights while I'm there so I don't even have to pick that date in advance. I get really stressed when I'm pinned down to a schedule, and the last place I want to feel stressed is on vacation!

I can totally understand the newbies and infrequent visitors wanting to plan every day so they get the most out of their trips. But there really is something to be said about not having a plan if you're a frequent visitor.

 

[Aubie881]

We do not make plans either. You really will never see everything in one trip so we repeat the things we really enjoy and do a few new things each trip back. We also take some extra time to enjoy the resort we stay at.

 

[JillRenee1213]

There's something wonderful to be said about having been so many times that the plan is more or less in your head... I always feel comfortable not looking at a touring plan because I know the exact order of the rides that I want to go in

 

[snykymom]

thats exactly why all I do is make ADR's

too funny - and that's exactly why I DON'T make ADRs! It's so nice to just be leisurely for a change - not to worry about where you need to be at what time.

That's why I make ADRs but don't do the Dining Plan! If I feel like sitting down to eat, I do. If I don't feel like it, I won't, and I don't have to worry that I'd already paid for it or that I'd lose that money. (And yes, I cancel my ADR when I realize that I don't want to keep it!)

The last time we went, I asked my d on arrival day, "Where do you want to go?" She said, "Whatever bus comes first." That's what we did, and the day was a blast!

 

[SteffM]

I can't imagine planning EVERYTHING out (though there is nothing wrong with that and I am more like the plan it all out person and drop as we need ). I made ADR's and my DH is feeling locked down . That is about all we planned for. We are trying to stay in one park for the day but have hoppers in case it doesn't work out.

 

[Coach81]

Good point... sometimes knowing less.. can be more...

 

[homercrispy]

planning can be good sometimes. we go to the parks in the morning before they get busy, and are usually home around 2:00. that gives us lots of time to go to the pool or whatever.

 

[bytheblood]

My in-laws go without a plan every single trip and have a fantastic time. Our first trip was without a plan and it was great.

People don't have to be die-hard Disney freaks to have a great time in WDW. It is all about your expectations and your attitude.